Lead Software Engineer - AI Email Application

About The Role

Over 5 billion individuals worldwide use fundamental applications such as email, notes, tasks, and calendars which currently lack AI-native integration. We are committed to creating intuitive, proactive applications that require little to no complex prompting. Our focus is on enhancing conversations, task management, organization, and workflows using intelligent features.

Our product prioritizes high reliability in managing long-running workflows, maintaining persistent context, and ensuring real-world task completion, aiming to minimize AI hallucinations.

Our mission is to help organize people's lives to free up their time for more valuable and meaningful activities.

As the Lead Software Engineer for AI Email Apps, you will be responsible for the engineering foundation that transforms AI capabilities into dependable products. You will shape the architecture of backend services, APIs, and client-side applications while leading a small team of senior engineers.

This position involves active coding and leadership, where you will make critical architectural decisions, maintain system performance, reliability, and coherence as the platform scales.

Responsibilities

• Lead the engineering strategy and execution for backend, mobile, and desktop applications.
• Design and develop robust systems supporting AI-driven workflows, including state management, orchestration, retry mechanisms, fallbacks, and error handling.
• Create APIs and abstractions that integrate AI functionalities into seamless product experiences.
• Manage and mentor a small team of senior engineers, elevating technical standards through design and code reviews.
• Balance competing factors such as latency, reliability, cost-efficiency, security, and user experience in architectural decisions.
• Implement production-grade foundations encompassing observability, monitoring, testing, and operational excellence.
• Collaborate closely with machine learning leadership to convert AI models into fully functional products.
• Maintain simple, maintainable architecture that scales efficiently and allows for rapid development cycles.

Requirements

• Extensive experience leading engineering teams responsible for complex application or product systems.
• Strong hands-on expertise in designing, building, and delivering backend systems in production environments.
• Proven track record in developing AI-powered products or systems that leverage modern ML/LLM technologies.
• Excellent technical decision-making skills, even when faced with incomplete data.
• Proficiency across backend and client platforms, with deep expertise in at least one area.
• Demonstrated ownership mentality with a focus on shipping quality products and iterating based on real-world feedback.
• High standards for code quality, reliability, and core engineering principles.

Outcomes Expected

• Production systems exhibit strong observability, effective monitoring, and remain stable under real usage conditions.
• Technical and product decisions consistently optimize for speed, cost, reliability, and user satisfaction.
• All features across backend, mobile, and desktop platforms perform reliably and seamlessly.
• Continuous measurable improvements in latency and system reliability.

Work Environment

Our team is compact yet highly skilled, with engineers taking broad ownership and demonstrating strong judgment and independent execution abilities. We emphasize fast decision-making, close collaboration, and a balance between rapid delivery and sound engineering fundamentals. We prioritize building exceptional products over rigid processes.

Interview Process

Qualified candidates will be invited for up to four interviews conducted virtually or onsite. Our technical team evaluates applications with an emphasis on transparency and efficiency, aiming to quickly identify candidates who demonstrate the skills and mindset we seek. Successful applicants will receive an offer to join a mission-driven team developing AI solutions for billions globally.